Montreal snow-removal proceeds under sunnier skies

Tuesday's rush hour was already looking better than Monday's, with fewer transit delays, and some streets plowed and cleared.

Montreal Gazette

Updated: January 9, 2018

“We need the cooperation of citizens and want people to respect the 'no parking' signs,” said Jean-François Parenteau, the executive committee member in charge of snow removal.John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

Many streets were still snow-covered throughout the island on Tuesday after 12 centimetres fell steadily throughout the day on Monday, meaning a total accumulation of 30 cm since the city completed its last snow-removal operation on New Year’s Eve. The weather continued to cause commuter-train delays.

Temperatures are expected to continue to rise throughout the week after a brutal cold spell that lasted almost two weeks.

A low-pressure system and a warm front from Hudson Bay is expected to bring rain showers on Thursday with a forecast high of between 5 and 10 C. The record for Jan. 11, registered in both 1975 and 1980, is 9.4 C, according to Jean-Philippe Bégin, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Montreal could see freezing rain or mixed precipitation on Wednesday before temperatures climb on Thursday, Bégin said.

The mild weather will probably not lead to flooding because the thaw and the rain will not last long, Bégin predicted. The snow on the ground will also absorb some of the rain, he said. Temperatures will fall throughout the day on Friday with colder weather returning for the weekend. Environment Canada is forecasting a high of minus-11 C on Saturday and Sunday.

Dozens of crashes

20-year-old man also died when his car collided with a dump truck carrying snow late Monday in St-Léonard.

A woman in her 70s died Monday evening after the car she was travelling in flipped over on Highway 10 in Marieville, in the Montérégie.

About 40 cars went off the road during the snowfall on Monday, said Claude Denis, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec.

Police in Laval said the slippery conditions resulted in several motorists ending up in the ditch during the commute home Monday night.

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